Higher gravity also increases the knockback taken by a character when they go into tumble. The Smash also retains a fairly progressive leverage ratio, meaning the rear suspension ramps up a fair amount through its travel. The Ride build gets buyers the same frame with a SRAM NX drivetrain, Code R brakes, a Lyrik Select, and the same SDG Tellis dropper post. It is a capable climber, although not the most efficient, and it excels on the downs. Gravity is a measure of how fast a falling character or object reaches their maximum falling speed; this may otherwise be expressed as their gravitational acceleration, though unlike in reality these values are not uniform. So far, I’ve taken The Smash on a handful of rides. I think it’s great to have adjustability, but most bikes with adjustable geo or suspension feel good in one position and awkward in the other. They have way more modulation than the stock Code R’s, and the adjustability on the RSC is arguably the best on the market. I’ll put it this way: if you were me, and you lived in Montana (where I live), then you should get the Smash. Notes. But the Smash isn’t a wallowy mess — it still pumps really well for a mid- to long-ish travel bike. The taller front end on my Smash also means the reach was slightly shorter than the stated 471 mm on my size 3. Ultimate.. And while there’s a ton of fancy, fun bits that you can throw money at, I’m of the opinion that the Rally build is actually a pretty good value, and reasonably dialed as is. So with the Guerrilla Gravity The Smash I have in my hands now, by swapping out the seat stays, and a different shock (and then a different fork), the bike can be transformed into a Trail Pistol. Plush mode softens the mid-stroke, and makes the top-stroke even more sensitive, while the ramp in the end stroke remains similar. The 120mm-rear-travel Trail Pistol is, as we’ve said 100 times now, exceptionally nimble and poppy, and the Gnarvana sure looks like a monster truck with a 63.7° head angle, 160 mm rear / 170 mm front suspension travel, and 29” wheels. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. As a consumer, these things can increase the confidence in your decision to buy, and make someone (myself included) feel less trapped into spending thousands of dollars on something that is only meant to be ridden one way. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Noah: Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: I like this bike. Cornering on the Smash was intuitive and effective — the geometry naturally had me weighting the front tire and pushing the bike through corners. In Ultimate, the special gravity is also present in some Spirit Battles, where it is affected by the conditions "Gravity is high" and "Gravity is low" as well as the rules "Low Gravity" and "High Gravity". Later on, they added a steel hardtail, the Pedalhead. NS Bikes Define AL Race 160 Mixes Wheel Sizes, Offers... 2020 Mountain Bike Reviews from 17 (!) Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The Trail Pistol didn’t pose quite the same quandary as it did Noah in this regard – you should go read our Trail Pistol review for more on that – but I do think that the Smash is a bike that’s more likely to really click for more people as a result. Lastly, the price is still rather competitive. Their frames are actually less expensive than a lot of the carbon frames made in Asia on the market right now, and Guerrilla Gravity is touting their carbon frames as being 300% more impact resistant than other frames on the market. I’m planning on converting the megatrail to a shred dog for mellower trails, and I expect to be very happy with the size 2 in that configuration. Were do I ride , my back yard is Deer Creek Cny . So with the Guerrilla Gravity The Smash I have in my hands now, by swapping out the seat stays, and a different shock (and then a different fork), the bike can be transformed into a Trail Pistol. As such, it strikes me as a particularly easy bike to recommend to someone looking for a 150mm-ish travel 29er to use in a broad range of conditions and terrain – and that’s a whole lot of people these days. But I can be found from FT Collins -Col Springs on any Fri-Sunday . And a mounting bracket below the shock makes it easy to strap a tube, a CO2 cartridge, and a multitool to the frame. Ok, my Will Smith-inspired subheading leading into these ride impressions might not impress punk enthusiasts out there, but clearly isolation is taking its toll. On the size 2 I tested, the reach measures 446/456mm with the headset positioned in either a short or long orientation. Although the GeoAdjust headset offers some personalization in ride feel, it does make for an enormous looking head tube. So the Smash, as I rode it, had a Lyrik RC2 fork, a Fox DPX2 Performance rear shock, a Sram GX Eagle drivetrain, SRAM Guide RS brakes, DT Swiss XM 1501 wheels, and an SDG Tellis dropper. For The Smash, the rear suspension is Horst-link controlled with 145mm of travel and up front the bike features a 150mm fork. How much all of those factors affect your decision is going to be different for everyone, and ultimately, the point of this review is to talk about how the bike rides. There’s enough suspension, and the suspension is good enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to tackle any trail, but the bike doesn’t feel so huge and squishy that it’s completely out of place on smoother flow trails. But if you’re coming from a short travel rig, the Smash might feel like a bit much (at least at first). And Blue decal . Noah: I have a pretty hard time not recommending the Smash for anyone looking for a bike in the mid- to long-travel, do-it-all category. The shock is driven off of the seat stay, whereas many other horst-link bikes tend to be driven via a swing link of some sort. As for long rides I ride a average of 15 to 30 miles a ride . The Smash climbs plenty well for the class of Enduro-y bikes it belongs in. The Smash, and every other Guerrilla Gravity full-suspension bike, is built around a traditional horst-link design. Stable yes . Remove two pivot bolts on each seatstay (and keep track of the washers in those pivots). Noah: As I mentioned above, this bike started as a Trail Pistol with the Ride 1 build kit, which Guerrilla Gravity now calls the “Rally” build. But like everything, it depends. Urge BP Lunar MTB Helmet: 80% Recycled and so Enduro... September MTB Product Reviews: Liv, Ohlins, Sombrio, Thule and More. Enter your email address to receive our top stories via email each week. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. report. The build spec options aren’t hugely different, so you’re not going to gain a lot of weight, but you do get bigger brakes (200 mm front rotor by default, and Codes as either an option or standard, depending on build kit) and options for burlier forks. But I also think that the Smash just lends itself to, well, smashing a bit more than the Trail Pistol, and when it comes to smashing, a bigger bike feels more normal. Company While it’s far from the longest-travel bike in this category, its geometry and build specs make the intentions clear — it wants to go downhill, preferably quickly. Guerrilla Gravity isn’t breaking new ground with the suspension design, but the design has clearly been thought through to accomplish specific goals. Settings. Matt, Plus the frame itself has a bunch of neat features, including the option to turn it into a different bike for far less than buying a whole new frame. But it does seem like this comes with some tradeoffs. In Super Smash Bros. As the name implies, the Guerrilla Gravity ‘The Smash’ sounds like a hammer of a bike, bringing visions of the Hulk, or Gallagher to mind, or maybe fast tires punishing rock below them. Prices have crept up on the GG models, but are still a few hundred less than most carbon fiber competitors, and about $4-500 more than aluminum framesets on the market. Higher gravity makes a character reach their top fall speed faster and also makes the character lose upward velocity from jumping more quickly. Remove the rear shock. [David: Noah’s stated 471 mm reach number is with the Geo Adjust headset in the short position. Pointed downhill, Plush mode shines, and even with the DPX2 air shock, it achieves a coil-like feel with small-bump sensitivity. It’s super versatile, and comes in at a very reasonable price, especially considering that we’re talking about an American-made carbon frame with a bunch of options for customizing the build to your liking. The longest-travel 29er that is currently in the GG line hasn’t been cumbersome to climb on, and is confident and agile on descents. And the Fox DPX2 is my favorite “Trail-oriented” rear shock — it balances efficiency, mid-stroke support, and plushness better than anything else I’ve ridden. The geometry is progressive, and it’s where a lot of the major companies are heading in terms of their numbers. David: At 6’ tall, the Size 3 Trail Pistol fit me well, and I continued to feel at home having converted it to a Smash. Noah: As with pretty much all of Guerrilla Gravity’s bikes, the Smash falls at the modern end of the geometry spectrum. Ultimate. If you typically ride medium frames like I do, the 2 will feel just fine with the added bonus of more reach and the meaningless but noticeable aesthetic benefit of not using the short position (as Noah mentioned in the trail pistol review and I will reinforce on the internet, where it will live forever haha). Sounds like a serious shred sled! The Smash is more than happy to gain speed by pumping, and it doesn’t feel like your efforts disappear into the suspension. This means, among other things, that it takes some doing to bottom out the Smash. The Smash still has a swing link that modifies how the shock is compressed (and does a lot to laterally stiffen up the rear end), and that swing link features a flip chip to alternate the rear suspension between “Plush” and “Crush” mode, which only affect the bike’s leverage ratio, with no change to the geometry. About Us | Slow tech, ridding no problem . To convert to a Smash, I needed the Smash seatstay kit ($445) and a different rear shock (the Smash needs a 230 x 60 mm rear shock, whereas the Trail Pistol runs a 210 x 50 mm). Look out for the full review on The Smash soon. Best Bike Trails | Thanks for the review fellas. For the ride -It climbs , I have tackled rocky , steep , technical climbs . User account menu • Prescribing Gravity. As noted above, they’re modular. Video. Log in sign up. Throwing the frame sideways into a corner or landing a bit cattywampus off a jump doesn’t reveal a whole lot of flex. Singletracks Merch | A Fox 36 or Rock Shox Lyrik would be a better match. Noah: As I said, my Smash was originally the Ride 1 (now called the “Rally”) kit that came on the Trail Pistol, which is roughly equivalent to the Rally kit that comes on the current Smash. With the headset in the long setting, The Smash in a size medium has a 64.7° head angle, and a 77.1° effective seat tube angle. As a whole, there’s nothing proprietary or weird about the frame — every part and size, from the derailleur hanger to the shock mount, is pretty standard and easily replaceable if it breaks.